Atleti score on the last kick of the match in Paris. PSG now in 25th place, with Bayern and City still to play.
I can see how a team that finishes between 9th and 12th in the league phase table could end up drawing PSG in the playoff, the way things are going. Another reason you really want to finish in the top 8. That playoff is not necessarily just having to play 2 extra matches against a Dinamo Zagreb or Sparta Praha.
The last 5 seconds 🤣🤣🤣😂😂😂oh my god man https://t.co/ondKtGj7UR— 🫵🏽 (@idoxvi) November 6, 2024 Mbappe's defending makes 37 year old Messi look like prime Baresi. Messi had 15 tackles in 19 games to Mbappe's 1 in 10 this season.
That video analysis is brutal. But some of the reasons why Mbappe was offsides vs Barca wasn't that he doesn't know how to be a 9 .. it was just bad timing on his runs vs a high line. Honestly something that is outside of his skillset like other attributes of a traditional 9 like playing with your back to the goal and etc ... Almost feels like he is purposely fuking up so that they move him to the left. May the drama escalate.
You guys will enjoy this In case the link is geoblocked: https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/comments/1gm33ac/fc_midtjylland_unusual_kick_off_as_they_concede/
It doesn't? Maybe the first 3 or 4 offsides can be explained by over eagerness (his first clasico; desperate to get his Madrid career out of second gear). That combined with Barca's exceptionally high line can easily justify a few offsides. But not sure how to explain 9 offsides other than he doesn't know how to be a 9. One of the advantages of playing on a wing is you can usually see the entire backline in front of you. But of course, when you are in the middle of the field you often only see 2 defenders at a time, and you just have to have a knack for where the others are.
Yeah but that's easily fixed. Specially for a guy of his speed. Other skills that actual 9s have that he clearly doesn't have are harder to teach. Like the in box instincts that Benzema had.
LPB lost Rodrygo and Militao to injury today. I hope they get healthy, but I also hope LPB pile on the losses going forward.
Meh, I think Bellingham is probably a better #9-ish type than any of their other options. I also think Bellingham is a better player the closer he is to the opponent's goal: https://fbref.com/en/players/57d88cf9/Jude-Bellingham The one year he played as a false 9 or 9-1/2, his xG+Ag/90 (expected goals + assists per 90 minutes) SOARED to .64, which is good for a false 9. Especually in a top league like La Liga. Every other year, his xG+Ag/90 was <.50. TL/DR: Bellingham is best as a false 9, and playing him anywhere else is a waste of potential. Playing Mbappe in that role has been worse for he, for Bellingham, and for LPB. (Which makes me happy.)
True. I am not arguing against that. Just pointing out that against a high line, it wouldn't take much for Mbappe to have been better.
Agreed. I also happen to think that Mbappe, while a top talent, is nowhere near as good whilst playing off the LW. He also doesn't appear to be versatile enough to do anything other than to play LW, which is why he struggled to stay onside. For LPB, the easy solve is to put Bellingham in as a #9, bench Mbappe, and find another player for the right. Happily for us, I don't think they'll do that. Mbappe is their latest "galactico," and LPB faps themselves to Galacticos.
sounds like Militao tore his ACL. he just recovered from an ACL injury, not sure if its the same leg.
That sucks for him, and I do hope he recovers. However, I also hope that LPB continue their idiotic pursuit of "galacticos," rather than them pursuing a solid and balanced roster. Prior to Mbappe going there, and then the media and their supporters all fapping themselves to the latest "galactico" heading there, I had thought that they needed depth in defence, and at least one MFer. Not only has Kroos left, but Modric looks like he's finally losing the inevitable battle against Father Time. But also, their backline has a lot of age and injuries to it, even before Carvajal, Vazquez, and Militao went down this season. But hey, they just GOTTA go get the next shiny "galactico," so that ESPN and merengues can get their jollies, because madrid "WON" the transfer window, by cornering the Egotistical LW market.
Speaking of "4" Barca Femini match the men by beating Real Madrid 0-4 in Madrid in the first league clasico of the season.
So, Pep signs at least a 1-year contract extension with City. Probably with a second year as an option. Huge for City (albeit in the midst of a 4-game losing streak)!
Great atmosphere in Cardiff tonight to see Wales come from way back to win their pool and gain promotion in the Nations league ahead of Turkiye! They had to try to win by 3 goals in case TUR scored a tying goal in Montenegro, as TUR had the goal diff advantage. And Wales managed just that with 4 consecutive goals after falling behind early on. But..but.... bring back the friendlies they say..
Yes, I do say bring back the friendlies, because club > country. And because more international fixtures will inevitably mean more injuries for players. And shorter playing careers. BTW, how did you like Pedri and Gavi playing for their country? Did you enjoy them watching Barça from the seats?
Come on, de la Fuente is doing major player rotations in the Nations League. Dvery national manager of a top team is afaik... I am OK with Pedri, Casado, etc playing 90 minutes during these past 10 days. This is not something that will lead to fatigue and its good experience.
A. IDGAF about how players play for their nations, I want them to slay while in MY club's colors. B. Jingoism in football and in sport is a bit dated. C. The nations league has been UEFA's barefaced attempt to have an annual or biennial Euros; I'm not interested in more international football. The NL is a stoopid cashgrab. D. The nations league has locked each confed into having to play each other over and over and over and over and over ad nauseum. (IOW, the USMNT plays concacaf fodder even more than they did before, and THAT was too much.) TL/DR: More international tournaments ain't more better, it actually makes football more worser.
Helmond Cup update: Oops! Long time since I fulfilled my Helmond Cup duties. Helmond Cup changed hands 4 times since last update, assuming I didn't make a mistake somewhere. Result: 15 Sep (Serie A) Atalanta - 3 Fiorentina - 2 *Helmond Cup moves to ATALANTA* 19 Sep (Champions League) Atalanta - 0 Arsenal FC - 0 24 Sep (Serie A) Atalanta - 2 Como - 3 *Helmond Cup moves to COMO* 29 Sep (Serie A) Como - 3 Hellas Verona - 2 4 Oct (Serie A) Napoli - 3 Como - 1 *Helmond Cup moves to NAPOLI* 20 Oct (Serie A) Empoli - 0 Napoli - 1 26 Oct (Serie A) Napoli - 1 Lecce - 0 29 Oct (Serie A) Milan - 0 Napoli - 2 3 Nov (Serie A) Napoli - 0 Atalanta - 3 *Helmond Cup moves to ATALANTA* 6 Nov (Champions League) VfB Stuttgart - 0 Atalanta - 2 10 Nov (Serie A) Atalanta - 2 Udinese - 1 ------------------------------------------------- Next fixture: 23 Nov: Parma v Atalanta (Serie A) Forthcoming: Young Boys v Atalanta (Champions League) / Parma v Lazio (Serie A)